


Autumn Equinox Festival

by StormOfBrilliance



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Banter, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, The young ones are in this too, but very briefly, hence it is AU, written before s3 came out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28049985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormOfBrilliance/pseuds/StormOfBrilliance
Summary: The war is over and Katolis celebrates the annual Autumn Equinox Festival. Amaya visits with Gren and thinks elves are a nice addition to the party.
Relationships: Amaya/Janai (The Dragon Prince)
Kudos: 30





	Autumn Equinox Festival

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this one and a half year ago and since I just now started posting fanfictions again I decided to share this one too.
> 
> This was written before season 3 was released and I just jumped post war, that had somehow ended. I had obviously no idea Janai was royalty, nor that her sister is older instead of younger, nor that said sister isn't a sweet artisan but a fierce queen.  
> I also sadly have mostly no proficiency in (american) sign language and there is only so much one can teach themselves on the internet. Bear with me, and if you notice something wrong or unrealistic, please do tell.

"I still find it hard to believe that some people cannot see that this peace benefits everyone," Amaya stated, gesturing with open hands to the smiling people around them. "I mean, look at this place, I haven't seen people this happy and relaxed for a long time, albeit still somewhat reserved."  
"Even some of the soldier think we should go on using elf heads for target practice," Gren added wrinkling his nose.  
"Not on my watch," Amaya signed with sharp movements. "Peace is a precious thing, we, as warriors, of all people should know that. Everyone of us has hold enough hands of dying companions to know by now that there is nothing more valuable than life."  
"Maybe they'll understand when they visit their families back home."  
"Always optimistic, I like that," she commented smiling. "Well, let's try and enjoy our free time, no more talking of wars. It's been years since we've been here the last time and I missed it."  
"Me too. First thing I want to do is get some strawberry ice-cream," Gren signed most excitedly.  
"It's lemon for me," Amaya stated with a grin as they stepped through a flower decorated wooden arc at the entrance of the market. It was the week of the annual Equinox festivities, at the end of every summer they celebrated the foregone warm and prosperous time and with it the end of the hard harvest work. Everywhere in Katolis people baked the most elaborate and fancy cakes and pastries, cooked absolutely delicious food, all the while drinking the first wine of the year. In the city around the King's castle was the famous Artisan's Market, craftsmen and artists exhibiting and selling their work, performers like dancers, musicians, singers and actors presenting their skills. It was a week of happiness and ease, this year more than ever, concluded with a brilliant, breathtaking firework at the evening of the autumn equinox. There was also a ball at the castle, for the nobility at least, but Amaya didn't really care for that, though of course she had to show up there. The downside of being on leave for the festivities.  
While eating their ice cream they roamed the streets, stopped a while to watch a group of pantomimes (because Gren loved this particular art, not Amaya, though for once she was actually able to understand all of what was going on) and a after that a blacksmith shoeing a horse, because Amaya wanted to. Not that she didn't know what the woman was doing, but she found it a rather soothing work to watch. And to do, at the Breach she'd asked their smith to show her.  
They talked about anything and everything, teased each other, laughed with each other, simply enjoying their time together. Amaya barely remembered a time when she had been so at ease, with herself, the world, and for such a rather long period no less. Though it generally was hard to have a bad time while being with Gren, he was sunshine impersonated after all. At some point as a child Amaya had developed the still lasting habit of matching persons dear to her to weather characteristics. Sarai had been the silence before the storm, which was a concept even Amaya got, Callum was lightning for the way his face lit up when being excited, little Ezran the rainbow after a mild summer shower. Janai was like the wind, sometimes all soft and smooth and sometimes sharp and biting (though Amaya was quite sure the elf shouldn't be on her list, especially not yet already).  
Gren tugged slightly at her arm to get her attention. "Let's check out that market stall over there."  
"That's only jewellery," Amaya noted with a critical look.  
"I know, bear with me," Gren replied quickly. "I still need a birthday present for my mother and she's been in search of a bracelet for a while now."  
"Alright then, let's have a look," Amaya gave in. Who was she standing between Gren and a gift for a beloved one after all. Her friend carefully made his way through the crowd to the front of the stall, where a fair haired and dark skinned woman with friendly sparkling eyes sold all sort of crafted jewellery. Amaya stood next to him, watched him ponder. She was a little bored, she'd never been really interested in this sort of things — in contrast to Sarai, who somehow managed to find her heart in climbing, horse riding and fighting as well as in dances, dresses and shiny things. Actually, the only piece of jewellery Amaya had ever worn was a wooden amulet with the carving of a shepherd dog, her favourite animal. Sarai had gifted it to her when they were young and she kept it with her at all times. Oh, she missed her sister dearly. (Damn Viren, for all of it.)  
She let her gaze wander vaguely over the display until a pair of cuff earrings caught her eye. They were made of gold, and shaped like sparking flames. Depending on light and angle, the metal showed shades of orange, yellow-white and reddish colour, as if lighted by real fire. Amaya thought them awfully beautiful.  
Gren tapped her shoulder, she felt somewhat caught and probably had a sheepish look on her face.  
"They're nice, but I don't really think they'd suit you, Amaya," Gren signed hesitantly. He looked like he was sorry, not for telling her, but for the fact itself. Sweetling.  
"Sure not," she responded quickly. "Have you ever seen me wearing earrings at all?"  
"No," Gren signed, smirking, "Why so interested then?"  
Amaya didn't have a smart answer for that, so she settled for a change of topic. "Found something for your mother?"  
"Ah, yes, I guess," smiling he let matter pass and showed a lovely, intertwined bronze bracelet to her. "What do you think?"  
"It's nice, I'm sure your mother will like it," she signed and Gren was happy. He handed the merchant some coins, then they went on with their walk.

They stopped again at a small stage because Gren liked the song very much.  
"I could translate for you, if you want," he asked, but Amaya refused. Nice of him to offer, but she didn't really mind, he needn't concern himself with her right now and should listen to his beloved music. Amaya leaned to the wooden wall of a stall nearby, enjoyed the pleasant warmth of the autumn sun radiating, contently watching her friend tapping his fingers on his tight and his foot on the ground, singing along.  
She got distracted by a little girl with a small wooden sword in her hand who bumped into her while very excitedly and passionately fighting against a somewhat older boy, also with a toy sword. The girl looked up to her, said something — probably an apology — and went on romping with the boy. Maybe it was a bit early to say the girl was talented, but she definitely had the spirit of a warrior. Amaya smiled, the two reminded her of Sarai and herself in younger years, they'd always been tussling around, throwing each other into the dirt, covered in bruises and with wounded hands and knees, but at the end of the day always cuddled up to each other in bed while sleeping.  
Amaya turned back to music-enjoying-Gren, but he didn't seem to listen anymore, instead he gazed to the nearby square with its lovely fountain (and very focused so). She curiously cocked her head, tapped him slightly on the shoulder, but he kept staring the other direction. She did it again, he didn't seem to notice. So she bluntly waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention and thankfully this worked, Gren finally looked at her.  
"What's so interesting about that fountain? You usually don't have a soft spot for floral decoration."  
Much to her interest, he turned a little red. Amaya grinned, gave the fountain another look. There were many people around it, children splashing water at each other, a little family with their baby, a couple holding hands, two elderly men sharing some chocolate fruits, happily chatting. And sitting on a bench a woman, maybe a little younger than Gren, with curly raven black hair and red cheeks, eating an ice cream cone while smiling at the children petting her big, fluffy dog.  
"Is that the woman you've been telling me about?" Amaya asked. Some days ago she'd gotten a few things out of him when he'd mentioned that he had met a woman at the town library, whom he had talked for hours to (and forgotten his meeting with Amaya and her nephews, not that any of them had been angry). He nodded.  
"She looks nice," Amaya told him. Gren went a little more red, the freckles on his cheeks fading into the temporary colour, but also his smile grew wide.  
"Well, she is very nice and kind. And pretty cool, too," he stated, a little sparkle in his eyes.  
"As long as she's not as cool as me", Amaya responded with a raised eyebrow and another grin.  
"Of course not", he answered, chuckling. Amaya fondly ruffled his hair a little messier than it already was, resisting the urge to nudge his nose afterwards as well.  
"I think you should walk over to her, treat her to some ice-cooled lemonade, spend some time with her."  
"But, Amaya, we're here together, enjoying the market. It's the first time in years we could make it here and I also don't want to just leave you here, alone and bored, and...", objected Gren, but she stopped him by gently covering his signing hands with hers for a moment.  
"Dear Gren, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine on my own," she reassured him. "I'm a grown person you know," she added, teasing. "I think you should go. You do want to get to know her better, right?"  
"Yes, I do, but..."  
"No but!" interjected Amaya quickly. "You should go. Besides, I'd hate to not get the chance of meeting that pony-sized ball of fur one day."  
Gren laughed, they both shared a profound love for dogs, the bigger and fluffier the better.  
"Alright, I'll go. Her name's Adina, by the way," he answered, then clarifying: " The woman, not the dog. The fluffy girl's name is Lana."  
"Alright then, have fun," Amaya wished. "Maybe, if you are nice, she might even accompany you to the ball tomorrow evening."  
"I'm always nice," protested Gren, trying to look a little offended, but failing gloriously to do so. After all, he was an extraordinary friendly person.  
"I know," agreed Amaya with a grin. "So that shouldn't be a problem." She gave him a reassuring push forward, waved him goodbye. "I'm looking forward to being introduced to both of them," she added, before Gren finally turned ahead and made his way towards the fountain, almost appearing confident now. Smiling, Amaya watched their warm greeting and found that he hadn't turned his head back to her once, much to her content. Then she left them on their own, strolled through the streets again, alone this time.  
Amaya wandered around with no particular destination, took a look at the displays of the stalls, admiring craftsmanship and enjoying the beauty of art. She stopped a moment at another of the several little stages that were scattered all throughout the market. Some elves danced to the music of flutes and drums and though Amaya couldn't hear the first ones, she felt every beat of the latter vibrating in her chest. She loved the feeling, that's why she had halted in the first place, but she found that she also quite enjoyed the elves dancing. They moved and performed with compassion, with the spirit of children having fun rather than engaging in dull and stiff formal dances on balls for the purpose of politics and match-making like the high society did. She wondered what the invited elves would make out of tomorrows ball, maybe it would make the gathering more interesting. On second thought, it was Ezran and Callum throwing that ball, it would definitely become interesting sooner or later. Amaya grinned.  
She watched a little longer, then continued walking among the stalls. For a moment she considered getting some candy cotton, she'd loved it as a child, but she had always shared it with Sarai and even the thought of them not sitting in a tree, giggling and eating the sweet stuff with dirty hands felt utterly strange, so she decided against it and got herself a bag of roasted almonds instead.  
Amaya reached a street she'd crossed earlier with Gren and was reminded of that jewellery stall where they'd stopped. She bit her lip, thinking. At least she could have a look if the earrings were still there. If not, her problem was solved, she needn't think about the matter anymore. So she made her way back to the stall through the crowd, took that look. They were still there. Amaya cursed herself in mind, why did she come again? She sighed, the earrings were beautiful, and they'd look even better on a certain woman.  
"You're being ridiculous, Amaya," she thought to herself. Already about to turn, she still hesitated. After taking another look, she grimaced. Oh what the hell! It's not like she had something to lose. She gestured for the merchant, handed over the coins and now somewhat impatiently waited for her to carefully put them in a little silk pouch before giving them to Amaya. She put them in her pocket, thanked the woman with a nod and a smile, then went on, feeling strangely content and filled with anticipation and a little thrill at the thought of handing the gift over.

Janai smiled as she caught view of the silent general, her general, walking through the streets full of people. Not harsh and determined as usual, instead strolling, now and then stopping for a moment to wait for a child to pass, sometimes gently pushing an adult aside, slowly making her way through the crowd. For once she didn't wear the heavy armour she usually protected herself with, not only from blades but also from people. Janai had noticed that, though Amaya was a very self-confident and respected person, she seemed to feel vulnerable without it. Not that there was but a single reason to it, actually Janai had never encountered a single human who didn't like and cherished the general. But it was the same thing as with Amaya's entire behaviour: Around people she trusted and liked, she was gentle and warm hearted, deeply cared for others and had a very pleasant sense of humour, with everyone else she was harsh and fierce. Janai had only learned of the friendly side of hers after the truce and the somehow-peace that evolved from it. Before this they had called Amaya the "silent general", for she had never spoken a word —which made sense now —, and not few of Janai's soldiers had feared the woman because of her brutal strength in battle, mixed with an unexpected agility, her stern look and her relentlessness, or where at least deeply intimidated after meeting her. Fortunately, they all had warmed up with each other a lot quicker than Janai, and probably Amaya too, had expected and now got along most of the time. A good thing, the peace worked better at the Breach than probably almost everywhere else. Hate had been easy at the beginning, at her first days at the border, being this close, and although it grew for some time, Janai had eventually reached the point from which on she had hated war more than humans. Her soldiers had told her of a similar experiences and so had Amaya. With the dragon prince returned and a truce set up, it turned out that the hate for war faded slower than the hate for each other, and since then they muddled through, sympathies growing on either sides. With endless gatherings and conversations she had grown rather found of both Amaya and Gren and quite liked a few of the other commanders by now (and came to hate one with all her heart). Gren was kind and sweet, the sort of person you just had to like and who liked everyone in return as well; always seeing the good in people. But also the kind of person on who's bad side you most certainly didn't want to get. And Amaya was simply amazing in basically everything. Janai had admired —but certainly not liked— her from their very first meeting on, a one woman army and a general through and through, now there barely was a thing she couldn't love about her. At the moment Amaya seemed to be alone, her second shadow for once nowhere to be seen, and Janai decided this was a good moment to finally spend some time with her again and even better so, private time. Besides, she got near to reaching a point where she was actually able to chat with her fluently without Gren's help.

Amaya still roamed the streets, let her gaze wander. A man, short blond hair, broad shoulders and somewhat older than her, caught her eye. He stood before the market stall of a sunfire elf and had quite an angry expression on his face, whereas the young elven woman was looking rather intimidated. The man was shaking his fist vigorously at her and was probably yelling, before he took something from the stall, knocked a box over and walked off, despite the sunfire elf protesting. The people at the scene simply watched, some of them not interested in helping, others not daring to. But Amaya sprung into action, whistled sharp with two fingers and was obviously heard, for a lot of heads turned around and people quickly made way for her as she sprinted down the street. The thief broke into a hasty jog, but he didn't get away very fast and Amaya had no problem catching him. She grabbed the man's shirt and pulled him back, and not very gently so.  
Amaya wanted to yell at him, as he had to the elf, but she didn't. Though she knew how to use her voice, she didn't like it and people tended to smile at her like she was an idiot. So she let go of him and instead signed harshly at him, being rather pissed. There where laws and rules, and stealing was against them, whether from a human or an elf. Besides, people like him threatened the fragile peace between the two nations she was so proud of helping to keep. The man looked at her and clearly didn't understand a single word she signed and eventually walked away, calling her crazy. Amaya grabbed him a second time, turned him around.  
"Do you know who I am?!", she signed furiously with harsh, sharp gestures and angry furrowed eyebrows, before she made a deep-drawn sigh. Of course he didn't get that either. So she pointed to herself, then drew the symbol for general and the letters of her name into the air, tapped the prominent scar on her cheek and then watched with content amusement his eyes growing wide. He stammered something she wasn't able to make out and very quickly turned the stolen property over to her when she extended her hand expectantly. She angrily waved at him to go, this time he understood and bolted.  
Amaya looked at the piece of well crafted woodwork in her hand, it felt cool and smooth, showed a detailed statue of a strange, foreign looking bird she'd never seen before, carved out of cream white wood, with inlayings of an almost black and a blood red one as well as golden metal eyes, beak and feather linings. Though she didn't care much for decorations, often occupying too much space and occuring in too large numbers, the beauty of the small bird wasn't lost on her and she took a moment to admire the fine artwork, before returning to the market stall.  
She handed the piece back to the sunfire elf, who looked rather relieved and thanked her in many words for her bravery (at least from what Amaya could make out). The elf waved her hand over the display of her stall and wished for Amaya to pick a piece she wanted, hold a few up, showed them to her. Amaya gestured in a thankful refusal, the woman looked up to her.  
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked. Amaya sighed, again, but didn't got the chance to do anything as the eyes of the sunfire elf lit up, her gaze resting upon something, or probably rather someone, behind Amaya. She turned to look and was utterly surprised to see Janai, of all people, standing behind her, with a smug smile on her lips and just starting to talk.  
"I don't think she actually said anything," she told the elven women, who looked somewhat confused when Amaya turned to her again. She felt a light touch on her shoulder and found Janai smiling at her as well as slowly, but accurately signing an affectionate greeting, which Amaya returned equally delighted. Some time had passed since she had last met the Knight of Lux Aurea, whom she had fought more often than she could count and was now very happy to call a friend rather than an enemy, and she had missed the woman more than she wanted to admit. It was an unfamiliar view, seeing her not wrapped in armour and without her crown helmet which always gave her a rather stern look, but certainly not an unpleasant one.  
"Amaya, this is Venali, my little sister," Janai signed and voiced simultaneously. "Venali, this is General Amaya of the standing battalion."  
The woman, Venali, looked surprised but delighted and regarded Amaya with a wide smile that resembled Janai's very much. Amaya noticed now that the two generally looked alike, not only the deep red hair, but also facial features, though where Janai was a little rough, Venali was softer, smoother, younger. With Sarai and her it was the other way round, while in all her memories Sarai looked soft and caring, for nearly a decade Amaya always found a harsh, grim face glowering back at her from the mirror.  
"Well, it's nice to meet you, I heard a lot about you," Venali said, Janai kindly translated so Amaya didn't need to rely on the insufficient skill of lip reading. She raised a skeptical eyebrow.  
"Well not everything was nice, actually a lot wasn't, but in Janai's last letters she was rather enthusiastic and I must admit I got very curious, usually she's not that... excited about people."  
Surprised and a little positively thrilled Amaya stared at Janai, who blinked, lost for words, hands wavering a little, and Amaya vowed that if the elf could turn red, she would have.  
"Enthusiastic, hm?" signed Amaya, smirking, but instead of answering Janai preferred to look at her sister, scolding.  
"Well, now that I know who you are, I insist all the more that you choose a piece you like", Venali said after regaining her attention. "Maybe this Golden Eye?"  
She took a butterfly, an almost completely white statue with fine chiselled ornaments, painted in thin lines, and hold it against the sun to reveal a bright, translucent eye on the wing, the paper thin wood shining golden by the light. "One of the pieces I'm most proud of."  
"I see why, it's very beautiful," agreed Amaya, Janai translating for her. "But I'm afraid, it's not my choice."  
"What about the fire lioness? They're just like you, fierce and strong hearted, but still all warm and caring," suggested Janai, pointing to a statue of a proud, roaring lioness with golden fangs and teeth, carved out of red wood.  
"Charming, but I think I'd stick with that lovely bird I saved from the hands of that brute," stated Amaya and with a heartwarming smile Venali gently set the bird in her hand.  
"Thank you."  
"Thank you for standing up for me."  
Amaya nodded her head in reply, carefully placing the little statue in her pocket, in doing so she was reminded of the earrings. Ah, damn it.  
"On a different matter, here is the food and drink I got you, so you won't starve at your stall", said Janai and placed a mug smelling of honey tea, a bowl of something that looked like chilli stew and a bag of sour candy on the display.  
"That's a weird choice," Amaya stated, though she liked all of it quite much, she decidedly did not in this combination.  
"I wanted to try something new, something humans eat", Venali said with a shrug. "Well I'm cared for, but you could introduce Janai to something traditionally human, maybe your favourite dish? She's free for rest of the day and would surely be delighted to spend some time with you."  
Janai bit her lip, blinked, which thankfully kept Amaya from blushing and had her smirking instead.  
"This is a good idea, I like it," agreed Amaya. "Let's do that."  
She looked to Janai, who raised her hands, smiling. "No objections from my side."  
"Good," Amaya was about to turn, but hesitated as a thought came to her mind. "Venali, do you happen to have a dog or something like that?"  
"I have a thunderwolf," she replied and presented her a howling wolf, the rippled fur painted in shades of blue and silver, with little white crystals as eyes. Amaya immediately liked it and handed her the coins for it.  
"Gren, my interpreter, will love it," she stated, then Janai and her bid their goodbye to Venali and headed back to the streets again.  
"Is your sister always this straight forward?", she asked.  
"Mostly, yes. She's determined to not let me succumb to solitude, I think she fears I'll retreat to a shabby cabin high in the mountains some day if not for her efforts."  
"I don't really see that, honestly," Amaya answered chuckling. "Would be a shame, really."  
"Don't worry, I'm not planning to do so."  
"Well, better not take a risk, let's grab something to eat and spend some time together."  
"Actually, I'm not really hungry yet, but I'm in for a refreshing drink", Janai admitted. "I've seen children selling some juiced water not far from here." The elf gently grabbed Amaya's forearm and pulled her to the marketplace nearby.

A little later they'd found themselves a comfortable place at the foot of a tree on a small hill where they had a nice view on the market. Amaya balanced a mug on her knee while reaching for her bag of almonds, Janai on the other hand had already almost finished hers and looked rather pleased with the taste.  
"What was that again?", she asked.  
"Lemonade, cooled water flavoured with lemon juice", Amaya replied, and the certain irony wasn't lost on her. At least Gren hadn't been there to notice it, she'd never see the end of his teasing.  
"I think I'm getting another one later," considered Janai. "That stuff is very tasty."  
"Fine with me. But you also need to try some roasted almonds and later we'll get some chocolate fruits", Amaya signed excitedly.  
"Roasted what?", Janai asked, roughly repeating the sign for almonds.  
"A-L-M-O-N-D-S", she spelled letter for letter. "Some kind of nuts, I think. Try them!" She offered Janai the bag, the elf tasted some of them, smiled.  
"These are very good as well. You humans do make some decent food, you know", she admitted. "Generally, I think we really have been doing you wrong. You certainly are not the uncivilized brutes we thought. This market is a good example for it."  
"Thank you, I guess?" Amaya shrugged. "Nice words from a swordswoman with glowing fists by the way."  
"Says the one rather breaking down doors than using the handle."  
"I'd deny this, but that would probably be a waste of effort."  
Janai nodded with a wide grin, got another handful of almonds. "Right, and I'm sure we find better use for it. Like, keep on introducing me to your delicious food, showing me around this market and whatever nice and interesting you can come up with."  
"Oh, we're definitely going to ride on the big wheel", Amaya stated and pointed to the giant wood construction with the small cabins on a spinning wheel, that towered above the town houses.  
"Why?" Janai asked with a skeptical risen eyebrow. "What use is it for?"  
"Simply for fun." Amaya grinned, the elf was not convinced.  
They stayed there for a while, simply content with emptying the bag of almonds together and watching the busy streets. Janai was sprawled out next to her in the green grass, her head rested against Amaya's tight. Several butterflies and even a bird visited them, stayed for a while, flapped their wings, the bird cocked his head and opened his beak, probably chirping, before flying away again. Not for the first time Amaya was fascinated how animals were drawn to the elves, not only domesticated ones like horses, cats and dogs, but also wild ones of all kind, though they mostly bolted again when Amaya did move or literally anything besides breathing. Ezran was the only person she knew who even excelled them, but well, it was Ezran.  
Eventually Amaya couldn't resist the temptation any longer and plucked one of the golden gazanias which grew in bushes around them, reached out to her friend and gently put it in one of Janai's many braids, between an ear and a horn. The elf barely lifted her gaze, but a small smile tucked at the corner of her mouth. So Amaya got another few flowers, wove them first together and then into Janai's hair, curling strands of gazanias around the long braids. The yellow-golden petals had small, deep red stripes, matching the hair colour perfectly. The elven woman tilted her head with a raised eyebrow after Amaya had stared for a (rather long) while, taking in the her beauty, which was now complimented by the flowers.  
"They look very nice on you," Amaya signed sheepishly. She noticed the cheeky smile on Janai's dark lips, how she slowly curled one of her braids around her fingers.  
"Thanks, dear." The elf traced her fingers along Amaya's arm, nuzzled her head closer. Amaya set her gaze to the market again, hiding an all too pleased smile.  
"You've gotten pretty good at signing," she stated eventually, searching for a change of topic.  
"Well, that book you gave me was very helpful and honestly, I spend a lot of my free time practicing," Janai explained and Amaya was probably more touched by her effort than she wanted to admit. A few months ago they'd had each other at the edge of their blades (and shield, respectively) and now they sat here, sharing roasted almonds and happy spending time together. And furthermore, Janai had made the time and effort of learning a whole new language only for her. Amaya couldn't help but being flattered.  
"That's very... kind of you," she answered, being able to stop herself from signing "sweet" just in time. She was quite sure that Janai had noticed her hesitating, but the elf didn't address it and instead smiled heartwarmingly.  
"Assuming you'll still be here, maybe you're interested in attending the Equinox Ball tomorrow evening?" Amaya asked, trying to keep her expression and signing casual. Oddly enough this was somehow important to her. She had hated that Ball since the first time she had to attend (thanks to Sarai, why did she have to marry the prince of Katolis?), still it would mean a lot to her if Janai went with her, no, accompanied her. Amaya refused to think of this as date.  
"Is that one of your stiff human diplomatic meetings?"  
"I guess I should answer no for you to come but I'm afraid I hate lying," she replied reluctantly. "But that's not all to it and I believe it's going to be a lot more loose and fun this time since it's the boys throwing the event. There is music, dancing and a lot of very delicious human food, plus, from the castle one has the best view on the firework."  
"What's firework?"  
"Moving paintings in the sky, kind of."  
"That sounds interesting," Janai answered. "I'll come if I get at least one dance with you."  
Amaya already started to beam, then frowned. This was a bad idea, and probably she should have thought of this outcome, it was a ball after all.  
"I'm not much of a dancer," she admitted reluctantly. "I never got a connection of any kind to it."  
"Hm, I guess it's hard if one can't hear the music, the melody's flow," Janai signed, then added smiling, "Alright, I'll come."  
"I didn't promise you that dance," Amaya gave to think.  
"I'll still accompany you."

"That thing is quite high," Janai stated, face grimaced with worry. "And it doesn't look very safe, any millwheel is more solid than that."  
"Coward," Amaya responded immediately with a quick, sharp gesture and a wide grin.  
"I'm not! Just skeptical," Janai protested.  
"Alright, you ride with me on the big wheel and I treat you to some chocolate strawberries afterwards."  
Janai wrinkled her nose, then rolled her eyes. "Oh fine. It's good that the bribery with food also works the other way round."  
Smirking Amaya grabbed her arm and dragged a reluctant Janai to the entrance.  
"Just get in, its real fun", she signed, before shoving the elf inside the gondola and climbed in after her.  
"Are you sure this thing won't crumble into pieces beneath us? Or worse, crash down on top of us? It really doesn't look very stable," Janai gave to think with another more than critical gaze up to the elaborate construction. Their gondola stuttered as the wheel began moving, Janai's hand jerked to the armrest.  
"It's perfectly safe. For their hometown the builders even work on designing a downhill roadway with ups and downs and turns, where you can go down in small carriages. They say it might even reach the speed of a racing pony. I hope they finish working on it soon, I want to test that."  
Janai had a rather horrified look on her face. "You humans are crazy. Why would you do something like that? And just for the record, I won't visit you at the hospital."  
"You would," Amaya answered smiling.  
"Yeah, you're right I would," Janai admitted with a sigh. "And probably I'd even bring you flowers and chocolate."  
The elf leaned over to the armrest, threw a glance down to the ground.  
"It looks higher from up here", she signed uneasily.  
"Afraid of heights, are we," Amaya mocked, Janai shot her an angry look.  
"Certainly not", she answered with narrow eyes. "I just still don't trust the construction."  
"Want me to hold your hand?"  
Janai wrinkled her nose, twisted her mouth. She stared, sulking, then leaned forward, rested her hand on Amaya's knee. Amaya rolled her eyes, grinning, but she intertwined her fingers with Janai's nonetheless.

Dusk had fallen, they reached the now mostly empty great market place, Amaya let go of Janai's hand.  
"Before you go," Amaya signed slowly. "I wanted to give you something."  
Janai cooked her head, she had a questioning and very curious look on her face. "You do?"  
"Yes," she answered, more confident now and pulled the silk pouch out of her pocket, gave it to the elf. "I hope you like them."  
She watched with a rapid pacing heart as Janai carefully opened the small bag and retrieved the earrings from it, eyes going wide.  
"They're beautiful!," she signed with excited gestures. "That's very fine craftsmanship."  
Her slender fingers ran over the metal, caressing the golden flames that shimmered in the flickering torchlight, admiring it. When she looked up again, she had a touched smile on her lips.  
"Thank you very much, Amaya." Janai came close to her, her hands brushing alongside Amaya's forarms, leaving her with goose bumps all over. She tenderly laid her arms around her, pulling her in a fond embrace, that she returned delighted. Amaya caught scent of the sweet smell of the elf's perfume, breathing in deeply. When Janai pressed a kiss to her cheek, she was sure her heart skipped a beat; excitement rushed through her body and Amaya felt like her fifteen year old self again. She'd noticed before that Janai was all for touching and physical contact, it was a trait Amaya usually faced rather skeptical, but with the elf she found herself enjoying it, almost longing for it.  
They slowly separated again, Janai's hand lingering on hers, the elf simply smiled at her for a while and Amaya smiled back.  
"Well, I had a very good time," Janai signed. "And thank you again for the earrings, they're a lovely gift."  
"I'm glad you like them. Please give my regards to your sister."  
"Of course. I see you tomorrow then," she answered. "I'm looking forward to it."  
"Me too," Amaya signed smiling and watched the elf make her way down the street to pick up Venali, cheek still burning from the soft touch of her lips.

Amaya straightened her dark blue tunic made of wild silk, with fine golden embroidery and loosely cut silver sleeves. The tailor had made the effort of designing garments that still somehow underlined her rank as general of the katolian army. For courtly clothing she felt rather comfortably in it, the trousers of buckskin leather as well as the rather heavy boots probably helped. She was still absurdly and unusually nervous and admittedly the only reason for this was Janai.  
Thankfully at this moment Gren stepped up to the court before the hall, Adina at his side, their arms linked, and they made her way towards Amaya, actually followed by the enormous fluffy dog named Lana. Gren looked handsome, wearing fine garments in the colours of Katolis topped with a half cape, his hair nicely done and with a confident demeanour. Adina wore a sky blue dress that suited her well, her hair was put up and she was beaming all over her face. Amaya smiled, the two made a lovely couple.  
"You look handsome," Amaya signed with a nod to Gren, who took the compliment slightly blushing, then she firmly shook hands with Adina, who greeted her with a happy smile.  
"General Amaya, it's an honour to meet you," she signed very slowly. "My name is Adina." Then she went from signing to speaking, Gren translated: "I'm afraid I'm not proficient in sign language, this is all I know."  
Amaya smiled delighted, she always appreciated it when people made an effort and learned a few signs.  
"Nice to meet you too," she replied. "And just Amaya is absolutely fine."  
Then Amaya turned to Lana who carefully approached her and when Amaya showed no objections stood on her hind paws, bringing her face up to Amaya's, first nosed at her, then licked her face. Amaya laughed, ruffled Lana's fluffy, long fur in return, much to the dogs delight. She petted her head and afterwards rubbed her belly while Lana wiggled her tail rapidly, radiating pure and utter joy. Definitely a good way to start this evening, Amaya decided. She barely managed to restrain herself from hugging Lana or burying her face in her fur, dog's hair all over her clothes probably didn't help keeping her good impression as a general.  
She felt a tapping on her shoulder, Gren looked at her, then pointed to the court entrance.  
"Look who's there. I didn't know Janai was in Katolis."  
Amaya stood, straightened her tunic and turned to the portal, searching for the sunfire elf. She was hard to miss, an elegant, shiny figure, walking towards them with swaying hips. Amaya's mouth went dry, her eyes wide. Janai looked incredibly handsome in her chiffon and leather dress-like tunic, close fitting and figure-accentuating on her torso and with wide flowing skirts around her tights. It resembled her armour, was coloured in crimson red, snowy white and shining gold, embroided with metal and adorned with gleaming charms and ribbons swinging with her every move. Instead of wearing the crown helmet she had strands of gold woven in her hair and wore small bracelets around her horns. Her braids laid in curls with dancing tips and she had glittering painted fingernails and golden lips that looked very inviting. What Amaya also noticed while trying to remember how to breath was that Janai wore the earrings Amaya had gifted to her and they looked even better on her than she could have possibly imagined. (And no, it didn't help her breathing at all.)  
She caught view of Gren, standing a few steps behind Janai and waving a hand to get her attention.  
"You're staring," he signed with a wide grin.  
Amaya furrowed her brows a moment, straightened her back and closed her mouth, all the while trying not to blush. But when she turned to Janai again, she was quite sure that a rather love struck smile was back on her lips.  
"Good to see you," she signed, Janai didn't bother answering and instead gave her a loving hug and a hopefully unseen kiss to her neck, that nevertheless made Amaya smile even more. Janai greeted Gren with a —way shorter— hug as well, shook Adina's hand and petted Lana's head.  
"So, I was promised a party, where is it?", she asked then, eager for action.  
"I believe it's that way," Adina suggested and stepped towards the hall, Janai following. Gren grabbed Amaya's arm, held her back from following right away.  
"Promised a party, hm? You invited Janai," he stated with a smug smile. "She's your date."  
"It's not a date," Amaya answered determinedly and probably a little too quickly. She took the flight forward, at least in a literal sense, and caught up with the other two who just reached the doors. Gren shook his head, bemused, and linked arms with Adina again.  
"Ah, General Amaya, a pleasure to meet you. Commander Gren," one of the crown guards in front of the hall greeted them, then furrowed his brow at Lana, who trotted along Adina's side. "I don't think we can allow animals inside."  
"That's alright, Lana is a good girl," Amaya interjected. Ezran would be most excited to meet her and Amaya would go way further ensuring he had the best time he could have than smuggling animals to a ball.  
"Well, if you say so, General," he answered while opening the heavy double wing door. "Have a nice evening."  
Gren and Adina passed by with Lana at their tail and entered the great hall, Amaya wasn't sure who of the three was more excited.  
"And you are?" Marcos then asked Janai.  
"Janai, the Golden Knight of Lux Aurea," she introduced herself.  
He scanned his list with furrowed eyebrows, shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it appears to me that you are not invited."  
"She is in my company," Amaya signed and linked her arm with Janai's, the pleasantly surprised sunfire elf translated for her.  
"Alright then, enjoy the evening," the man wished and they stepped into the ballroom: it was the first time with neither Sarai or Harrow present, but also the first time she had a hint of belief that she'd might have good time.  
"Company, hm?," Janai said smirking. "We call that a date."  
Why was it so hard not to blush?

They had helped themselves to all kinds of food and treats at the buffet, chatted their way through the hall, got to know Adina better (she was as nice and cool as Gren had stated, Amaya liked her immediately). Thankfully she didn't really have a problem with Janai and they had a rather funny evening. Right know Adina was introducing Lana to Ezran and Bait and while the ever grumpy glow toad wasn't very keen on socialising, Ezran enthusiastically jumped around with the dog. Amaya smiled, her nephew's cheerful personality always made her happy. A few steps to his side Callum caught the scene on paper, the young moonshadow elf watching him intently. Amaya did have a slowly going and awkward conversation with her earlier. They both hadn't gotten over their bad start altogether, Callum was somewhat discontent and impatient with them on the matter. But Amaya was sure they'd work it out, someday, they simply needed a little more time. And since it seemed that Callum's not-my-girlfriend would be staying a while, at least until Claudia finally managed to get her leader out of that coin, they'd have plenty of it. And she was really looking forward to throwing her into the dirt on the sparring ground, it had helped her overcome her aversion towards so many people already.  
Amaya leaned on to one of the high tables, slowly emptying the bowl of nuts placed on top of it, watching the crowd. There was the usual set of stuck-up, stick-too-far-up-the-ass-people, sniffing their noses on the unceremonial, loose nature of today's ball, complaining about this being a disgrace to high society, but most of the guests seemed to really enjoy their time. She spotted the young queen of Duren, Aanya, who had made friends with Pip and was currently feeding him peanuts, and also Soren and Claudia. The siblings had had a hard time lately, but this evening she saw them happy and cheerful, both joking around and unsettling people with their weird sense of humour. Amaya herself had faced them with mistrust, treated them harshly after Viren's arrest, but Ezran and Callum had forgiven them and so she had put her anger aside and decided that she would not punish the children for their father's crimes.  
She noticed Gren appearing at her side, beaming with excitement.  
"I see you're enjoying the evening,", stated Amaya happily.  
"It's wonderful", he agreed, stole a few nuts from her bowl. "Where's Janai?"  
"Fetching something to drink, I guess she can't decide."  
"Speaking of her, I'm quite sure those earrings Janai wears are the same we saw at the market yesterday," Gren signed with quite a smug smile on his face. Amaya breathed in, bit her lip though she didn't want to and stared with raised eyebrows at a prominent freckle on his left cheek.  
"I have no idea what you mean," she insisted, but only got Gren laughing.  
"Ah, of course not," he replied with a knowing smile and a wink of his eye. She wrinkled her nose, why did he have to notice (of course he did, as always). "They suit her, you made a good choice, Amaya."  
"Thank you", she signed, smiling. Janai did look stunning with those earrings (not that she didn't without them), the sight made up for any teasing Gren could possibly come up with.  
"While we're at it, I have something for you as well", Amaya added and pulled the small statue out of her pocket. "It's a thunderwolf, Janai's sister made it. She had a stall at the market."  
"Wow, it's pretty cool, thank you very much." Delighted Gren admired the woodwork in his hands, enthusiastically signing another thank you. Amaya chuckled while watching his utter joy and resisted the urge to ruffle is hair once more, he had made so much effort to dress up nicely.  
"Did you get anything for yourself at all?", Gren asked.  
"Well, I have a very happy friend now, plus... I get the pleasure of adoring Janai all evening," Amaya signed with a probably very smug smile.  
Gren laughed. "I think you deserve the night as well."  
"Oh, I do, right?" Amaya grinned and waved her goodbye to go looking for that certain, very beautiful elf, who hadn't returned yet with their drinks.

Janai placed her empty glass on the table and stepped up to her, a very seductive smile on those lovely golden lips. Oh, so tempting. (One day she wanted to know how they tasted.)  
"Dear Amaya, a single dance, please," she signed with gentle movements. "For me."  
Her sun bright eyes glowed warm, the golden markings on her dark skin shimmered in the flickering light of torches and candles. Damn that woman, Amaya was sure the elf somehow did this on purpose. Seriously, how could a person be so darn attractive? Janai extended her hand, bending her long, slender fingers in a gesture both demanding and beckoning, while in contradiction to this tilting her head with an impression of innocence.  
Amaya sighed deeply, then slowly reached out and placed her hand in Janai's, the elf's four fingers closing tenderly around hers. She pulled Amaya with her through the crowd to the dance floor, where she drew her close and then rested her other hand on Amaya's shoulder.  
"You feel the beat, right?", Janai asked, this time not signing but speaking to uphold the dancing posture. Amaya nodded, it was the only music she felt. The drums echoed deep in her chest again, now that they were close to the musicians once more.  
"Good, I'll hear the rest for you", she said with a warm smile and gently pulled Amaya forward as the next beat set in.  
It was not that Amaya was actually bad at dancing, remembering steps was easy for her and she had no problems following the rhythm of the music. What she lacked was the sense for a melody, in every meaning of the word. Janai on the other hand was moving flowing and smoothly, but not at all followed the dance figures correctly, though Amaya couldn't say if she didn't really know them or just didn't care.  
She noticed Gren and Adina dancing all over the floor with beaming smiles and sparkling eyes and for a little moment she envied them for being able to enjoy this unrestrained, but the feeling quickly faded and she felt happy for them.  
Suddenly Janai stooped, let her arm slide down Amaya's side. grabbed her hand instead, letting go of the strict posture. Amaya tilted her head questioningly.  
"This is stupid", she explained. "That's not dancing, that's a disgrace."  
Amaya's smile, which she hadn't noticed she'd had, faded from her lips, she let her shoulders sink. That hurt. What the hell had Janai expected?  
The elf blinked in irritation, then shook her head. "Not you, this, whatever it is, that humans call dancing," she clarified. "Let's try dancing the way sunfire elves do."  
Amaya, though appeased, didn't feel exactly confident with the idea, remembering the elves at the market yesterday.  
"It's easy and most importantly, accurately set steps are overrated."  
Amaya freed her hand for a moment. "Accurate steps is what I'm good at."  
"Let me take the lead for once," Janai said smiling, took one of Amaya's hands loosely in hers and placed the other very low on her hip, had her swallowing hard.  
Then the elf began to move again and gently, but firmly pulled Amaya with her. They danced more freely this time and though Janai took the beat rather as a recommendation, setting her feet sloppily around it, Amaya found that, after a while, she could work with that. Janai fused the steps to fluid motions, more improvising than strictly executing the figures, and kept Amaya close, somehow managing that she was able to follow her movements. At some point, they had danced through several songs already, Amaya felt like she was getting the hang of it; though she of course still couldn't hear the music, Janai kind of gave her a sense for it and it was great. For the first time dancing was more than a meaningless sequence of figures and it felt good, though she was absolutely sure she still looked ridiculous. And she was certain that someday she wanted to simply watch Janai dancing on her own, wild and free and passionate (and probably most seductively, honestly, it would be the end of her).  
Breathless but happy they eventually retreated to the buffet and helped themselves again to several handful of delicious canapés with cheese, salmon, grapes, quail's eggs and a lot more, then emptied three dishes of strawberries together (jelly tarts were out already, though they might have found some with Ezran). The hunger stuck nonetheless, Amaya realized, as she watched Janai slowly eating the last strawberry, looking up at her with her beautiful eyes. And those lovely lips caressing the fruit, she was actually jealous.

The great clock at the top of the hall struck midnight, the sound of the bell resonating in her chest, Amaya looked up at her, delighted.  
"Time for the firework!", Ezran and Callum called out simultaneously from the other end of the hall, the young king jumping in happiness and Lana with him, tail wiggling. The brothers and Rayla were the first to run out the doors to the courtyard, followed by a barking ball of fur and slowly but steady the rest of the people, Janai spotted Gren's red hair among them.  
"Let's go," she signed, about to head out.  
"No, we'll go upstairs," Amaya shook her head and left for a side door, Janai followed bemused and curious.  
"But everyone else is gathering in the courtyard for the firework."  
"I know a better place."  
They made their way along a few small corridors and up narrow staircases in a tower, reaching a small, solitary balcony with nothing more than a bench below the overlapping roof. The courtyard could not be seen from here, only a dim light from the torches just enough to enable signing, but the view to the city and the sky above were remarkable. The faint sound of chattering people reached her ears, but they were easy to ignore. Amaya stood in thought, her gaze wandering. Janai leaned to the balustrade, satisfied with watching her friend, though not entirely happy since Amaya had that certain shade of a sadness acquired long ago on her face.  
"This is where my sister fled to when politics tired her or life in the castle was too much to bear and she needed a break to clear her head. No one but me knew, this is where no one would follow, where it was just us," Amaya smiled weakly, signed with graver getting fingers.  
"I've seen the statue of her in the valley. She looked very kind," noted Janai.  
Amaya nodded slowly, now a well defined smile on her lips. "She was exceedingly kind and caring. But she was also harder than she gave herself, with an iron will and fist." Janai reached out and tenderly ran her fingers down Amaya's arm, then covered her hand with her own. For a moment Amaya closed her eyes, her features relaxed to an extend Janai had never witnessed before. She looked so much younger now and even more beautiful. Janai almost couldn't believe that they were here together, just Amaya and herself, and she deeply enjoyed the time with her, being so close to her.  
As Amaya opened her eyes again, Janai raised her free hand once more. "You're softer than you give yourself," she signed with gentle movements, hoping that Amaya would take it as the compliment it was meant. And just in that moment she felt Amaya giving in, relaxing even a little more, carefully entwining her fingers with Janai's. She stepped up to her, Janai wrapped an arm around her waist and carefully pressed her face into the short dark hair, which the breeze rustled ever so lightly, softly tickling her skin. Then she raised her hand up to Amaya's cheek and placed a kiss on her temple. Amaya leaned against her, eyes closed again and she still had her lips curved in that beautiful smile of hers. Janai's heart beat in a rapid, hasty pace, she felt somewhat high, just like when she drank too much alcohol, and all because of Amaya. Because of a damned human! A damned human that had driven her absolutely nuts (and not in a good way!) for quite some time nonetheless. But actually she didn't care right now, and rather enjoyed their shared embrace.  
At least until an absurdly loud bang cracked through the silence, booming and echoing between the towers and castle walls and vibrating in the building's structure beneath her feet, startling her deeply. Amaya merely straightened herself, looked at her with a grin.  
"What was that?" she signed most irritated.  
Amaya rested a calming hand on her arm, an amused smile on her lips. "That's the starting firework," she explained. "I forgot, it's rather loud. Sorry."  
Then she lifted her head, pointed to the sky a little to their right and Janai followed her gaze. The following sounds varied in volume, to her relieve mostly lower, and, more important, now she could see the lights of the firework to which the sounds belonged. And she found that Amaya's description had been totally accurate, fireworks were in fact moving sky paintings and after the first bewilderment she was absolutely thrilled!  
Glittering and sparkling explosions of all kind, in every shape and colour, with beaming shooting stars, gentle glowing feathery fans. Cascades of gold rained down on them, spiralling silver-blue streams of light glowed in the sky, accompanied and perfectly underlined by music that rose from the courtyard now, an orchestra of strings and harps, a few well-placed drums. In the sky more fireworks appeared and slowly faded again, thousands of gold and silver stars, rotating and pulsing spheres of all colours, all shining more brighter than the ones before, growing roses in every shade of red, set through with shots of gold.  
Amaya next to her, leaning on the balustrade, stared into the sky with a profoundly pleased smile and shining eyes. The fireworks were a composition, a melody of their own, a kind of music Amaya could see and Janai was excited to no end because of it. She stepped closer to her again, resting a hand on her forearm, and couldn't resist to gently place another kiss on her cheek, before snuggling against her, nuzzling her head to curve of her neck. Amaya wrapped an arm around her without taking her eyes from the sky.  
They remained like this until the last spark of glittering firework burned up and the music faded, all too soon. Eventually Amaya took a deep breath and straightened up, therewith breaking the close contact much to Janai's dislike.  
"And here goes the last day of summer and autumn's first night falls. This was the Equinox Ball," Amaya mused, eyes still up to the sky. Janai touched her hand, craving to get the lost physical contact back, and made sure to sign only after Amaya's gaze had lingered long enough to notice that.  
"It's been a lovely evening, I enjoyed it really much. Thank you for inviting me."  
"Thanks for coming," Amaya responded smiling. "This was the first time I had fun at this ball and you had a great part in it."  
"Actually a shame to end it already."  
"Well, the night is still young;" Amaya answered with a smug smile. "And we can have it all to ourselves. If you want to."  
She held out her hand and Janai was most eager in taking it. But instead of walking with her, she pulled Amaya close, firmly placed her free hand in her neck. The woman's eyes flickered with excitement, it was the last Janai saw before tilting her head and then pressing her lips to Amaya's. She felt the content smile against her lips as Amaya dug one hand in Janai's hair, rested the other on her back, keeping her as close as possible, deepening the kiss. When they separated Amaya's cheeks had taken a darker shade and the now deeply red lips were still curved to a smirk most satisfied and pleased.

Gren peered at her, smug smile.  
"What's the matter?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"You have smudges below your ear. And on your collarbone. They look pretty golden," he replied, then grinned before adding. "Wild guess but I'd say about the colour of Janai's lipstick."  
Amaya made a face, rubbed her fingers over said spots. "Exactly the colour. I remember quite well," she then signed with a pleased smile. "What?"  
"There is something on your neck as well. Oh, never mind, it's a hickey."  
"Great. It's not like I have an official meeting in a few minutes."  
He chuckled.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it :)
> 
> Originally this was only the last paragraph, but I got a _little_ carried away.


End file.
